


An Agreeable Match

by Fumm95



Category: Persuasion - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Introspection, Light Angst, Marriage Proposal, Terrible attempts at imitating Regency era writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23499406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fumm95/pseuds/Fumm95
Summary: “She had been solicited, when about two-and-twenty, to change her name, by the young man, who not long afterwards found a more willing mind in her younger sister.”—Persuasion, Ch. 5An AU exploring Anne's thoughts, and where she makes a different choice.
Relationships: Anne Elliot/Charles Musgrove
Comments: 14
Kudos: 30





	An Agreeable Match

**Author's Note:**

> I really love Anne Elliot, which means that she was bound to get this kind of treatment.
> 
> Not gonna lie, I'm kind of tempted to write a part 2 where Frederick finds out.

It was, by all accounts, a most agreeable match.

Though lacking in title, Mr. Charles Musgrove was a pleasant fellow, both in appearance and manners, fond of hunting, his family, merriment, and all that was proper for a comfortably landed gentleman. Moreover, by virtue of his being the eldest son of the senior Mr. Musgrove, he stood to inherit Uppercross House and all its consequence, thus placing him second in distinction within the county to only Sir Walter Elliot himself. Such qualifications, while not sufficient to recommend his suit to one such as the eldest Miss Elliot, for whom only a more advantageous match would be acceptable for her father—and, it must be said, the young lady herself, was quite enough for an understanding with either of the younger daughters.

This truth was not altogether unknown to the good residents of Uppercross, Kellynch Hall, and all neighboring families, including the gentleman in question. While he could never claim to possess any true quickness of understanding, Mr. Musgrove had heard enough—and indeed, the Elliot pride was such that it was far less an indication of his astuteness than one might expect—to have no small measure of confidence in his reception before commencing his attentions towards the younger Miss Elliots.

His deliberation between the two was hardly one at all; longtime neighbors such as they were, the Musgroves held the baronetcy of Kellynch Hall to some familiarity, with particular knowledge as to the characters of those therein. Indeed, the years had made acquaintances, willingness notwithstanding, of the majestic Sir Walter, the kind but late Lady Elliot, and the three daughters of varied temperaments, such that none at Uppercross might have doubts as to their natures and conduct. In short, Miss Anne Elliot, possessing patient manners and gentle modesty underneath which lay a quickness and brilliance of mind, was respected by all those who had been blessed by even a modicum of that discernment of which her immediate family, save her beloved and now departed mother, was so plainly in want.

It was with this knowledge that Anne acquiesced to the considerations paid towards her person. To her father and eldest sister, she was nobody, her quiet elegance and keen insights providing nothing of consequence to contribute to their lives nor anything worthwhile to recommend herself, particularly when judged by those imprudently self-assured individuals who have no use for wisdom or modesty. Mary, though overall softer in her regard, only took any true notice of her when she fancied herself in a pique of poor health and required attention beyond that perfunctory oblige paid by Sir Walter and Elizabeth in their rare moments of charity. As such, it must unfortunately be said that, save for the affections from her mother’s friend and aunt in all but name, Lady Russell, and a brief interlude now several summers past, there had been little attention paid towards the middle daughter, and none of that which her refined mind ought to have garnered, since the passing of her beloved mother, confidante, and kindred spirit at the tender age of fourteen.

For Anne, there too remained an additional consideration, of which she was reminded by each day’s attendance of her looking glass, by each dismissive glance and disappointed expression upon Sir Walter’s painstakingly maintained visage. Once, in the first blushes of her youth, she had been considered quite pretty; though lacking in her father and eldest sister’s strong, handsome features and striking gazes, she had her mother’s delicate face and gentle eyes, which were only accentuated by her sweet manners to form an elegance that captured the attention of anyone who had the sophistication to recognize it. That early bloom had faded equally swiftly, however, hastened by that waning which must accompany acute heartache and leaving her pale, plain, and unassuming. As such, while there were few men in the county who might be considered worthy of the daughter of a baronet, there were fewer still who would consider one such as her, lacking as she was in several of the typical assets employed to attract suitors.

Mr. Musgrove’s suit, therefore, was all the more worthwhile of consideration. She was not so vain as to believe that she might be offered many more as the years passed by and her society, more likely than not, remained generally constant. Especially when there was nobody who could compare to…

She shook her head, vexation rising in her chest at her momentary lapse in self-control; the half-decade that had passed since had aided in her attempts to soften the memories in her mind to the point where she could avoid thinking of such… happier times, but it seemed that not only accounts on the Navy from the papers, whose news she had begun to leave unperused, but also thoughts of attentions from other men, could weaken her resolve.

That, however, was nothing so strong as to be a cause for rejection, nor was it anything that reflected poorly on Mr. Musgrove himself. She possessed more than enough self-awareness to be fully cognizant of the fact that any man would have drawn such comparisons, and indeed, the mere fact that the chiefest of her complaints against him, such as they were, was that he was not another man was another point in his favor. Furthermore, the distance between their homes, or lack thereof, was such that she had had ample opportunity to understand the man who recently had asked, politely and with perhaps more patience than she truly deserved, for her hand. He was a caring son to the elder Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove and kind brother to his sisters, with a cheerful disposition and enough sense to know his own shortcomings. In short, he was far from an unreasonable or unwise choice and her life as Mrs. Charles Musgrove would be warm and comfortable.

It was, perhaps, not what she at seventeen would have imagined for herself, but given time and self-reflection, that was not altogether as disagreeable an outcome as she would once have thought. After all, she was not so young when her mother passed as to fail to recognize how her parents’ own relationship, formed of young admiration that had never matured, had become something more of reluctant tolerance than any true ardor. With her suitor, at least, that was a point of little concern.

Indeed, within her social circle, there was far worse and little if any better she could do than accept the hand of Charles Musgrove, for both herself and her family.

Nodding resolutely to herself, she rose from her settee, sparring only a glance at where the latest copy of the news, opened to the most recent reports from the Navy, rested, and made her way to the parlor where her suitor still waited. In the doorway, she paused, observing as he spoke to Mary while her father and Elizabeth saw to their own amusements, their kindnesses clearly stretched thin by the simple act of deigning to host him.

He noticed her return first, an occurrence that could be attributed to his concern on the state of his suit or, just as easily, her family’s own thorough lack. Whatever the reason, it was a welcome change, such that the smile which she donned was genuine when she dared to meet his gaze.

“I accept.”


End file.
